Hello, welcome to your week ☀️ 

If you’re like me, you think about food a lot… Speaking of food, is nutrition important to you? If you answered with an enthusiastic ‘yes’, make sure to check out the last section of the newsletter — I’d love to hear from you.

Now, here’s what you’ll find in today’s issue:

• ⌛️ Are the benefits of intermittent fasting BS? What the science says.

• 🫁 If you’re breathing through your mouth right now, you’ll want to read this.

• 👀 Wait until you see what TikTok wants you to put on your eyes.

• 🧘‍♂️ Plus, why research says you might wanna get a little “woo-woo”…

Let’s go.

THIS WEEK’S FEATURE

Can Intermittent Fasting Actually Help You Lose Weight and Live Longer? What the Science Says in 2023.

Tired of disappointing fad diets and unrealistic nutrition plans? Enter intermittent fasting – your potential diet savior…

Well, at least that’s how it’s made out to be. The pitch goes like this: eat whatever you want, as much as you want – as long as it’s within a specific eating window – and watch the pounds drop off. Super simple, right?

But wait, there's more! The benefits go beyond just shedding weight. Some experts claim it’s also a ticket to a longer, healthier life. Sounds like a win-win!

Nevertheless, new research is causing a stir, casting doubt on the effectiveness of IF – from disappointing to potentially detrimental. So, what's the true narrative in 2023? Today, we're delving deeper to uncover the science-backed reality.

What is intermittent fasting (IF)?

First, let me define what I mean by intermittent fasting (IF). IF is a broad term that encompasses various fasting patterns. Some popular methods of IF include:

• Time-restricted eating (TRE) is probably the most popular form of intermittent fasting, which includes the 16/8 method (eating within an 8 hour window per day) and the one-meal-a-day (OMAD) diet.

• 5:2 Method: In this approach, you eat normally for five days of the week and drastically reduce your calorie intake (typically around 500-600 calories) on the other two non-consecutive days.

• 24-48 Hour Fasts: Some people will undertake longer fasts a few times per month, either as their only form of fasting or in addition to an IF schedule.

Note: the research in this article focuses on TRE and fasts up to 48 hours.

What the research says in 2023

While past research showed promising benefits for IF, the latest research doesn’t tell the same story – and experts are taking notice. Let’s take a look at what the latest research says about its supposed benefits.

Is IF good for weight loss & metabolic health?

Recent studies challenge the notion that intermittent fasting (IF) is a weight loss miracle. While successful IF stories exist, weight loss likely arises from calorie reduction, not magic.

Research supports this, revealing IF doesn't outperform calorie restriction for weight loss (1, 2), blood sugar improvements (1) or decreasing insulin resistance (3). Even promising studies often boil down to calorie limits. Longevity expert Peter Attia suggests on his podcast that IF benefits are “accrued through caloric restriction” — not through a limited eating window.

In essence, if IF slims you down, it's due to eating fewer calories. IF can aid weight loss, but its benefits seem linked solely to the aspect of calorie limitation. Still, some people may find IF a helpful way to limit calories and lose weight.

What about longevity?

Research shows that autophagy, your body's natural cleanup process, may be linked to greater longevity, but the question is, can shorter fasts like TRE promote autophagy?

The latest research points to no. While one study on mice showed that a 16-hour fast strongly induced autophagy as a result of a starvation-like state, it’s important to remember this study was not on humans. To put this in perspective, mice have a metabolic rate 6.4x higher than humans, meaning a human would need to fast for 4 days (!) to get the same results.

And considering it takes your liver 48 hours to burn through glycogen stores, you will probably not see any meaningful autophagy during time-restricted eating.

To to recap: a starvation response activates autophagy, but any fast less than 48 hours probably won’t have any positive effects on lifespan. Side note: starvation isn’t the only way to promote autophagy. More on that in a minute.

So, should you ditch intermittent fasting altogether?

Across the Internet, there are numerous passionate supporters of intermittent fasting, with many attesting to its weight management benefits and enhanced focus during periods of non-eating. Generally, if something poses no harm and offers even potential gains, giving it a try seems reasonable.

Nonetheless, there's an important drawback tied to IF that you should know. Unfortunately, it's too much to address in one issue. That's why next week, I'll delve into the reasons why IF could potentially do more harm than good. 

Additionally, I'll explore a fascinating IF alternative that steers clear of calorie restriction, along with the most effective means of promoting autophagy without relying solely on fasting. Stay tuned!

Thanks for reading. Now go crush your week 💪 

— JC

📈 Health Optimization Tip of the Week

Recently, I delved into an eye-opening book that highlighted how breathing incorrectly is the cause of all of life’s miseries. Okay being a little dramatic here… but still. The findings were alarming.

While I can't delve into the book's depth here (seriously, explore "Jaws: The Story of a Hidden Epidemic" firsthand), one lesson rings resoundingly clear for adults: Transitioning to nose-breathing is a necessity.

Luckily, this video will help you do just that:

What about mouth-breathing during sleep?

While I can’t guarantee these exercises will work for you, they did work for me to stop mouth-breathing while I slept (confirmed by my partner) — without using mouth tape. Nice!

📱 Trending on TikTok #wellnessTok

The trend: Castor oil for eyes

Dry eyes? 👀 According to TikTok, you can easily remedy dry eyes and blurry vision with castor oil. As you may have guessed, eye experts are sounding the alarm about the potential dangers of applying oil around your eyes.

@drivenbybeauty

#stitch with @mellysandford I would ask your treating physician before applying anything near your eye. Maybe they can provide you a scri... See more

⏯️ Watch it here

While castor oil is a common, lubricating ingredient in artificial tears, the main issue with using castor oil directly is that it is not sterile and could cause an eye infection… so stick to the drops!

Should you use castor oil on your eyes? What the experts say:

❌ Nope, definitely not 🍊 Maybe ✅  Yes

📆 This Week in Wellness

Every week, we scan the web for the good, the bad and the downright intriguing in the world of health and wellness.

😻 The good:

• An ever-expanding body of evidence shows that spirituality may have mental health benefits. Research hints at a fascinating connection: the profound capacity of spiritual encounters to empower us in the face of stress.

👎️ The bad:

• Bad news if you ever bought a pair of blue light-blocking glasses: wearing them likely has little to no effect on reducing eye strain or improving sleep. Tip: use “Night shift” mode on your phone late at night, or better yet, skip the scrolling before bed ;)

🧐 The interesting:

• In futuristic news, there’s now a smart computer that can look at pictures of someone’s chest and guess how old they are. It’s not only scarily accurate at guessing age: it can also tell if someone is likely to develop certain health problems as they age.

💭 Parting Thought

Intermittent fasting who?

Missed last week’s issue? Read it here 👇️ 

C o m i n g U p . . .

Let’s talk nutrition: I’m considering going in-depth on more nutrition-related & diet topics.

I would love to know… do you care about nutrition? Do you follow a specific diet? Are there any particular diets (vegan, carnivore, keto, raw, etc) that you want me to write about?

👉️ Reply now and let me know

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Until next time ✌️ 

Hi, I’m Jenna, founder of Shot of Wellness. Every week, I curate this newsletter with the goal of helping you optimize your health, focus and wellbeing.